Question

A nurse works full-time on the oncology unit at the hospital and works part-time on weekends giving immunizations at the local pharmacy. While giving an injection on a weekend, the nurse caused injury to the patient's arm and is now being sued. How will the hospital's malpractice insurance provide coverage for this nurse?

a. It will provide coverage as long as the nurse followed all procedures, protocols, and policies correctly.
b. The hospital's malpractice insurance covers this nurse only during the time the nurse is working at the hospital.
c. As long as the nurse has never been sued before this incident, the hospital's malpractice insurance will cover the nurse.
d. The hospital's malpractice insurance will provide approximately 50% of the coverage the nurse will need.

Answer 1

The hospital's malpractice insurance covers the nurse only during the time she is working at the hospital option (b). For the incident at the local pharmacy, the hospital's insurance would not apply, and the nurse may require separate coverage from the pharmacy or her own personal liability insurance.

Step-by-step explanation:

Understanding Hospital Malpractice Insurance Coverage:

The question involves understanding how a hospital's malpractice insurance provides coverage. The correct answer is b. The hospital's malpractice insurance covers this nurse only during the time the nurse is working at the hospital. Since the nurse was working at the local pharmacy and not the oncology unit where she is employed full-time, the hospital's malpractice insurance would not provide coverage for the incident that occurred during her part-time job administering immunizations.

Healthcare providers like nurses are typically covered by their employer's malpractice insurance while they are performing their duties within the scope of their employment at that facility. When working in a different setting or for a different employer, such as a local pharmacy, they may need separate coverage, which could be through the pharmacy's malpractice policy or their own personal liability insurance.

It is important for all healthcare professionals to ensure they have the correct insurance coverage for all aspects of their professional practice, especially when they are working in multiple healthcare settings or for multiple employers.